Van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis fall as big names miss out on darts tournament

Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis were among the big-name casualties at the latest round of European Tour qualifying events.

The former world champions were attempting to qualify for the Dutch Darts Championship in Zwolle later this month, but both missed out. With 24 places up for grabs, Van Barneveld crashed out at the first hurdle, losing 6-2 to John O’Shea. Meanwhile, Lewis, having beaten David Evans 6-2, was thrashed 6-1 in his last-48 match by Jim Williams. Mensur Suljovic and Daryl Gurney also failed to make it through to the eighth European Tour event of the year.

The failure of Van Barneveld to make it through will be a big disappointment to the Dutch fans, as well as the man himself. Barney came out of retirement last year and, after an initial strong return to the sport, his comeback has gone flat this year. The five-time world champion recently admitted his return to action has become a struggle, partly because he isn’t a “morning person”.

“This year is difficult, the comeback is really hard,” he said. “In most tournaments, I win some matches, but I can't really compete for the final win. All those floor tournaments do not really suit me, because I am not a morning person. I have always played my best matches in the evening.

“That took a lot of getting used to, I had to recover from that. Yet I have not regretted my comeback. At the time I announced my farewell too early and I feel there is still something in the tank.”

Simon Whitlock, Scott Waites and Dave Chisnall will be in Zwolle after making it through the qualifying event.

Was Raymond van Barneveld right to return to darts? Have your say in the comments section below.

Dutch Darts Championship qualifiers: Ryan Meikle, Boris Krcmar, Dave Chisnall, Mervyn King, Chris Dobey, Connor Scutt, Jermaine Wattimena, Scott Waites, Mario Vandenbogaerde, Andy Boulton, Callan Rydz, Simon Whitlock, Kevin Burness, Martijn Kleermaker, Jim Williams, Ritchie Edhouse, Ross Smith, Mickey Mansell, Madars Razma, Danny Jansen, Jamie Hughes, Andrew Gilding, Steve Lennon, Niels Zonneveld.

Meanwhile, the list of seeds for the tournament has been released, with Gerwyn Price number one ahead of home hero Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright.

Dutch Darts Championship seeds

1. Gerwyn Price

2. Michael van Gerwen

3. Peter Wright

4. Ryan Searle

5. Luke Humphries

6. Jose de Sousa

7. Rob Cross

8. Joe Cullen

9. Damon Heta

10. Michael Smith

11. Nathan Aspinall

12. Dimitri Van den Bergh

13. Dirk van Duijvenbode

14. Krzysztof Ratajski

15. Martin Schindler

16. Brendan Dolan

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